Increase Access to Education to Promote Female Participation in Careers

been shown to support the development of such industries and support female employment within them. In Nigeria, a World Bank project that provided information and communication technology (ICT) training to female university graduates increased by almost 30 percent their likelihood of working in the ICT industry after graduating (Croke, Goldstein, and Holla 2018).

Where do our case countries fit in? As income and education rise in each one, a policy that considers training in industry can also take place in services. In Sri Lanka and Turkey, thanks to their relatively high income and education levels, there is room to expand domestic professional services. In both, more than one out of every three working women have at least upper-secondary education, making these countries good candidates to support higher-skill service industries for women pursuing higher educational attainment for careers. These women may particularly benefit from specialized training in specific professional service industries that have higher labor demand and require industry-specific skills.

In Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Vietnam, a stronger footprint across manufacturing sectors—combined with sufficient average education levels and training—creates an opportunity to further expand women’s opportunities in manufacturing-related services, such as in the wholesale, logistics, and distribution stages of the supply chain. Wholesale firms are also top employers of clerks, an occupation that plays an important role in facilitating the jobs-to-careers transition. In Egypt, a bigger move into services may also be relevant, although its income per capita suggests that such a shift may be limited to urban areas.

Expanding education matters for all countries because it is an enabler for women to stay in the labor market—the primary characteristic of a career. In industry, although careers are related but not limited to HSOs, other career paths are also feasible considering on-the-job experience and permanence in the labor market. Whether countries succeed in fostering more-advanced sectors with mid-skill occupations (like clerks or supervisors), HSOs (like managers, professionals, or technicians), or both, will depend on higher education levels and industrial upskilling or diversification programs.

INCREASE UPPER-SECONDARY ENROLLMENT AND INDUSTRY ENTRY POINTS

Differences in educational attainment between men and women are among the reasons why females represent a lower share of higher-skill positions in apparel factories in LMICs (ILO and IFC 2018a). Among our country cases, this applies to Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Pakistan, where education levels are still quite low and

where a very small share of the female workforce has at least an upper-secondary education—a level that is typically necessary to meet the basic requirements for clerical and supervisory roles or for managerial and professional jobs. In Cambodia and Pakistan, limited primary education is also a major issue because a large share of women still have not completed any formal education. In Bangladesh, despite significant improvements in the number of females enrolled in primary education, only 23 percent of Bangladeshi women have completed lower-secondary education.

In Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Pakistan, another issue is the education gender gap at the upper-secondary and higher levels. Stipend programs for girls’ enrollment in primary, secondary, and upper-secondary schools can be an effective solution to increase female enrollment and achieve better gender balance, as proven in Bangladesh (Rahman and Islam 2013). A similar program could be created in Cambodia and Pakistan as well and extended to the upper-secondary levels.

In countries where relatively few females have tertiary education, programs are needed that provide scholarships and stipends to young females to stay in school to pursue careers in the apparel industry. Female apparel-factory workers are often from rural households that depend on the daughter’s wages to support the family. Education and training institutions should provide information on opportunities in the apparel industry and factories. Many apparel companies or external organizations can offer scholarship opportunities to the children of apparel workers to pursue advanced education in exchange for returning to the factory for a set number of years. Communication channels between education and training institutes and industry are also needed so that individuals who have completed relevant courses can be connected with potential employers (JICA 2017).

REDUCE GAPS IN INFORMATION ABOUT AVAILABLE CAREER PATHS

It is also vital that programs aimed at keeping women in school communicate the potential earnings of different careers. A wider understanding of the economic returns captured by high school and university graduates can encourage a greater investment in education (Jensen 2010). For example, information that breaks down occupational characteristics such as average hours, education, and salary can help job seekers make informed decisions.

This report provides evidence of the latter, including that upper-secondary education is highly rewarded in the labor market—by wage premiums in Pakistan of almost 90 percent and in Vietnam of almost 50 percent. Information on the potential earnings from a given career path should also be readily available to parents so they can make the necessary human capital investments. The reality is that even if the financial means exist, decisions are often made with limited knowledge about the job market or educational opportunities.